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Through this program, trainees who have barriers to employment learn on-the-job skills in food handling and light manufacturing, earn transferable industry-recognized certifications, gain food systems awareness, and hone their job-readiness skills.

In 2017, Salvation Farms gleaned and distributed over 48,000 pounds of quality fruits and vegetables from 21 local farms to 25 different meal sites and food shelves, engaging 151 hardworking volunteers who dedicated 528 hours – far exceeding expectations!

Vershire—Sabra Ewing and Sebastian Lousada of Flag Hill Farm worked with the Vermont Land Trust to permanently protect 239 acres of farmland and forest from development and subdivision. As part of the project, the couple also ensured public access to the westernmost section of the Cross Vermont Trail, which leads up to Flag Pole Hill.

Successful business development models used in food systems expand to new sectors

Community Harvest of Central Vermont (CHCV), a community based volunteer driven food recovery organization, has had another incredible year of gleaning and has now gleaned over 107,900 pounds or 323,700 servings of food since it started in 2014.

Dairy farmer Guy Choiniere worked with the Vermont Land Trust, the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, and The Nature Conservancy to protect over a mile and a half of Rock River frontage on his farm in Highgate, ensuring that it will always be able to access its natural floodplain without disruption.

Skinny Pancake Celebrates International Crepe Day with ‘Free Crepe Day’ on February 1st.

January 26, 2018 marks the first major compliance date for farms covered by the Food Safety Modernization Act Produce Safety Rule. To assist growers in making on-farm improvements that prevent or reduce produce safety risks, the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets launched the Vermont Produce Safety Improvement Grant Program.

Farm to Institution New England (FINE) has released a four-part series of white papers on the processing of local food products in New England. The white papers were developed to help processors, investors, and policymakers better understand some of the fundamental issues and opportunities that these operations must address to be a success.

The Center for Agriculture and Food Systems at Vermont Law School (CAFS), Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont (NOFA-VT), and the Farmers Market Coalition (FMC) proudly launched the Farmers Market Legal Toolkit on Tuesday, January 16th. This Toolkit is an online resource designed to support farmers markets throughout the U.S. by providing market managers with open-source legal tools, and will help farmers market leaders build and grow resilient and accessible farmers markets in their communities, while planning proactively to minimize their market’s legal risk.